


Sea Cruise

by SoU2019



Series: Royed OTPoly 2020 SoU [8]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cruise Ships, Ed is 22, First Meetings, M/M, Meet-Cute, SoUarchive, They are on a boat, Yes those are a thing, gay cruise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:34:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26022760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoU2019/pseuds/SoU2019
Summary: The sudden relocation of his heart into his mouth had Ed gasping as he whipped around to face the man who had spoken, he gaped for a second silently grateful that he hadn’t taken another bite. “THE FUCK?!” He said as he tried to force his heart back into its proper place.AKA Ed and Roy meet on a gay cruise
Relationships: Edward Elric/Roy Mustang
Series: Royed OTPoly 2020 SoU [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1815196
Comments: 5
Kudos: 86
Collections: RoyEd OTPoly 2020





	Sea Cruise

**Author's Note:**

> For Royedpoly2020  
> Level: Hotel
> 
> I didn't do much editing so do point out any serious mistakes.

Ed grumbled as he approached the door to his assigned room. He shoved his suitcase and coffee into his right hand, and used his free one to dig out his key card.

The door made a quiet ‘click’ and Ed pushed it open.

He froze.

This room was  _ nice _ !

He’d assumed that a free cruise ticket would have put him in the cheapest of the penthouse suites, but no! This might not be the best room aboard this floating city, but it certainly was up there!

Ed dropped his tattered suitcase onto the floor and explored his new space. The doorway opened into a small living room area that had a kitchenette off to one side. To his left he could see into the bedroom and ensuite bathroom, but his focus was on the wall-to-wall window that gave him a clear view to the blue horizon. Slowly, he made his way to it, and pressed his face into the glass. The sky was a blue that could only be seen in this southern climate, and the ocean seemed to become a solid as it stretched out towards infinity. There wasn’t a single cloud in the sky, and from this height, Ed could barely make out the waves that he knew must be hitting the side of the ship.

The ship was absolutely massive, he had known that cruise ships were large, but he had never understood exactly how large they were until he found himself dragging his feet up the loading ramp. This ship looked like a skyscraper, and could hold over 4000 people. Ed had seen signs pointing towards the waterpark, ballroom, theatre, and casino, but he was most interested in the sign that had pointed him towards the buffet. Unfortunately he was going to have to wait until they cast off, but that was alright, he had grabbed a quick lunch before coming here, so it could wait. 

There was a button on the far side of the wall, and Ed pressed it out of curiosity. The gentle whirring of a machine was heard, and then the windows tinted nearly black, and the room was plunged into a very comfortable darkness. Ed yawned, it had been a long trip, and he hadn’t really slept for nearly a week so perhaps it was time for a quick nap.

\---

Ed awoke with a start, as his phone alarm rang out. His arm flailed out grabbing the device and muting the alarm. He groaned, and forced one eye open to look at the time. 7am. What the Fuck? Shooting off the bed, he pressed the button for the windows, and sure enough, the sun was low in the sky, and slowly rising. Ed glared at the bed, the traitor had lulled him in with its softness, and had forced him to sleep through the evening buffet! Kicking his suitcase to a corner, Ed flung it open and dug out a fresh pair of clothes. He might have missed out on the dinner, but he was not going to sleep through the epic breakfast buffet.

\--

The attendants were looking at him like he was insane. Ed frowned at his plate, he hadn’t even grabbed that many pancakes, he could still see over it which meant that it wasn’t cartoonishly high, but the attendants were looking at him like he had made a life size replica of the CN Tower. He set his plate down on the table and looked at it, the stack only came up to his chin. Ed looked at the tiny packages of syrup that were stacked on the table, those were not going to be enough. A quick scan of the room showed him the large syrup pitcher that stood on a small table off to the side, and with a skip and a bounce, he had grabbed it and set it down on his table with a firm ‘thund’

Now the buffet attendants were gawking at him, but he didn’t care. With an artistic flourish, Ed poured enough syrup onto his plate to drown a small animal, and began to dig in.

He was trying to swallow a slightly-too-big mouthful of pancake when his eyes met those of a fucking hot stranger across the room. Ed tried to swallow the gooey wad of sweet mush, but he nearly choked. It took everything in him to not spew half chewed pancakes all over his table, but he managed to hold back. The stranger was looking at him with amusement, and Ed began examining his fork with intense interest. When his face had cooled down, and Ed thought it was safe to look back up, the stranger was gone.

“I take it that you like pancakes.” A voice said from behind Ed.

The sudden relocation of his heart into his mouth had Ed gasping as he whipped around to face the man who had spoken, he gaped for a second silently grateful that he hadn’t taken another bite. “THE FUCK?!” He said as he tried to force his heart back into its proper place.

The stranger looked slightly apologetic, but there was an amused smirk on his face that made his half hearted apology sound insincere. “I’m sorry for startling you,” The man said, “I wanted to get a closer look at your engineering project.” He pointed at the stack of half eaten breakfast.

Ed stared blankly at the man, who held a rather sparsely filled plate and a mug of coffee.

“I would hate to play jenga against you.” The man said looking pointedly at the rather precariously piled pancakes, “May I?” He indicated the empty chair across from Ed. 

Ed nodded absently at a loss as to why someone like  _ that  _ would want to sit with someone like  _ him _ .

“Thank-you.” The man said, setting down his plate of fruit and yogurt. “I’m Roy, what's your name?”

Roy sat down, and Ed tried to tear his eyes away from the man’s stupidly fitted shirt long enough to process what he had said. “Uh--I’m Ed.” He managed, and winced as he tried to decide whether or not to offer his hand.

Roy seemed to notice his hesitation, and laughed. “I think we can forgo the handshake,” he said, “I haven’t shaken anyone’s hand in so long I worry I will have to practice before I go back to work.”

Ed smiled ruefully, “Yeah, it's been a fucked up year.” He glanced up, and watched as Roy took a bite from his plate.

“Which begs the question,” Roy said with an upturned eyebrow. “What brings you onto a cruise ship when, less than a year ago, people were being quarantined on them and literally unable to disembark.”

“Stupidity?” Ed said with a shrug, “I won a free ticket, and my mom would always say that no coupon or discount code should be wasted.” 

“Wise words.” Roy nodded, “I assume you plan on taking full advantage of all this ‘free’ food?”

“Yep!” Ed said happily, “So, unless you also won a golden ticket, you are paying for your food, right?” Ed said looking pointedly at Roy’s scant breakfast selection and waving a hand in the general direction of the large buffet tables that featured everything from bacon to gluten free waffles. “You’re wasting your money if that’s all you’re gonna have.”

“I don’t particularly mind.” Roy said, “I would rather ‘waste’ money than gain 10 kilos in a week.” He smiled, “However; if you plan on eating until you can’t move, I would be quite happy to carry you back to your room.” 

Ed reddened at the teasing smile and the suggestive eyebrow. “Eh, I think one of those electric scooters the old people are using would be more comfortable.”

“Perhaps.” Roy said, “but not as much fun.”

“Not for you maybe,” Ed snorted, “but I would have a great time whipping around the top deck in one of those, I think the ballroom would be a great place to set up a few ramps.”

“Those scooters do not go faster than 10km/h.” Roy said, “I wouldn’t get too excited.”

Ed shrugged, “Then I’ll figure out how to do some wheelies on it, still sounds fun.”

“I hope you’ll let me film it.” Roy said, taking a slice of peach and dipping it into the yogurt.

“Sure, but you’d have to help me steal some tools, I think I could rig one to go faster.”

“Are you some sort of mechanic?”

“No, I work in a lab, but my friend is and she has taught me how to do an epic welding job.”

“Well, I think I saw a plumber working on the 10th deck.” Roy said.

“Great! I’ll bet he knows where all of the power tools are!” 

Roy looked at him with a slightly wary expression, “Should I be concerned?”

Ed nodded, “Very. Once I’m finished with the scooter, Imma build a slide that goes from my bed directly to the buffet tables.”

Roy laughed, and Ed grinned. Maybe this guy was just trying to get into his pants, but at least he had a sense of humour. It had been a while since he had---No. Nononononono. That was not a line of thought that was going to distract him from this guy’s stupidly nice hair, and muscular shoulders, and--

“Huh?” Ed asked, blinking hard in an attempt to focus.

“I was asking if you went to the party last night.” Roy said.

“No,” Ed shook his head. “I accidentally slept like 15 hours, and I don’t really know anyone here.”

Roy smiled, “Neither do I; however it is remarkably easy to meet people at parties.”

“How are you supposed to meet people when the music is so loud?” Ed asked. “It doesn’t make sense.”

“You could always go to the speed dating event they host every night.” Roy said, “You are guaranteed to meet someone there.”

Ed flushed, “Yeah, not quite the way I want to meet people.” He looked down at the scraps left on his plate and began to swirl them around in the pool of syrup. “I dunno, people are weird.”

“That they are.” Roy agreed, “but now you know me, so you won’t be alone at the party tonight.”

“Who said I was going?” Ed scoffed.

Roy leaned forward, placing his elbows on either side of his plate and knitting his fingers together. With a tilt to his head, and a knowing look he said, “You tell me.”

It suddenly felt like the room was on fire. Ed felt his legs ready to spring him out of his seat and back to the safety of his room, but he forced himself to stay still. Fuck he hated flirting!

“I’ll think about it.” he said in a surprisingly steady voice.

There was a look of triumph in the other man’s eyes, and Ed wanted to kill him.

“Perfect,” Roy said, “That gives me the rest of the day to convince you.”

The simultaneous flood of fear and excitement nearly stopped his heart. “What?”

“I was planning on attending the acrobatics performance at 3pm,” Roy continued like Ed hadn’t said anything. “What were your plans for today.”

“Dunno.” Ed managed.

“Wonderful.” Roy said, “I have a list of suggestions.”

_ ‘I bet he does’  _ A rather desperate voice said from the back of his head, and Ed felt his heart rate rising. “What’s on the list?” Ed said, surprisingly steadily.

“Well, I was going to go spend the morning in the lounge and then go play a few rounds of mini golf before the acrobatics performance. We could go skating or try the water park if you’d prefer.” Roy shrugged his stupidly nice shoulders. 

“I was scared you were gonna say you wanted to spend the morning in the gym.” Ed said.

“No, I prefer to do my workouts early in the morning.”

Ed rolled his eyes, “You are on  _ vacation  _ if you haven’t noticed.”

“Yes, and the gym here is nicer than the one I have at home.” Roy replied.

“Urgh. If you want to waste all these delicious calories that is your problem.” Ed said, pushing his chair back. “I plan on eating so much that I don’t have to eat for a month when I get back home.”

Roy finished his drink and stood up, “I believe you.” He said with a smirk, “And my offer to carry you remains open until we dock back at port.” He winked. He actually winked. Ed opened his mouth to say something, but instead simply got up and headed towards the elevators. He could hear Roy chuckling behind him as he pushed the button to summon the metal death closet that would carry him up high enough that if the brakes failed, they would die.

It took a few seconds, which was long enough for Roy’s slightly longer legs to beat Ed into the confines of the death trap, and either Roy was psychic, or he was staying on the same deck as Ed.

“What deck are your rooms?” Roy asked, much to Ed’s relief. He really didn’t want to have to explain all the mental images that he had been trying to repress while watching Roy’s remarkably nice hands during breakfast.

“Same as you.” He said, “Whatcha do to get a fancy room? You secretly a millionaire or something?” 

Roy shook his head, and Ed tried to ignore that way Roy’s hair fluttered at the motion. “I wish.” Roy said, “My lab received vouchers for any one of this company’s cruises, and I chose this one.”

“Wow, your bosses must be fucking great!” Ed said as the elevator made its way past the 7th floor. “Mine barely gives me enough money to pay the interns.”

“This was quite an unusual bonus.” Roy said with a shrug.

“Shit, I will be sending Izumi an email. I’ve worked for her for ages and she owes me atleast 20 cruises by now.”

“Lord, you really should get working on that mobility scooter because after 20 cruises you’ll look like one of those humans in WALL-E.”

“WALL-E?” Ed asked.

“The Pixar movie about the robots and the not very subtle environmental message.”

Ed shook his head, “No clue, I don’t really watch that many movies.”

“Me neither,” Roy said, “However; I do have a niece who loves rewatching Pixar movies.”

The elevator beeped, and the doors opened. Ed followed Roy down the familiar corridor to the very front where there was a large glass door that opened invitingly into a spacious lounge. There was the sound of a lock turning when Roy tapped his key card, and Ed read the words ‘Private Lounge’ on the door.

Typical. Of course the penthouse people wouldn’t want the poor sneaking their way into their rich-person lounge where they would only interact with other rich people. 

_ ‘We are technically rich brother’  _ Al’s voice whispered in the back of his head.

Statistically speaking, on a global statistical chart, they were definitively rich, but they weren’t rich by _ rich  _ standards. They could have been, but Ed had refused to take out a patent on his  _ ‘world changing elixir’  _ as the New York Times had called it. __

_ ‘You are on a fancy cruise brother, you have no right to be complaining about the rich.’  _ Al’s voice said in an unusually sarcastic tone. __

Ed wanted to tell the voice to shut up, but it did have a point. Maybe some people on this floor saved up for years to afford this luxury, maybe they had received tickets as a bonus, like Roy had. Speaking of Roy, the man was pushing a few buttons on a fancy looking machine.

“What would you like to drink?” Roy asked, “This machine can make coffee, tea, and something called an _ ‘American Macchiato’. _ ”

“That’s probably the Starbucks version of the real drink.” Ed shrugged. “Considering they can’t even get their cup size names to match, I have low expectations for their coffee.”

“Do you want to try it?”

“Eh, I’ll go for tea.” 

Roy pushed the button, and they watched as a ceramic mug was placed into the machine by a robotic arm before the nozzle began to fill it with hot water.

“Whatever will they think up next?” Roy said, as the tray on the machine extended, and offered out the mug of hot water.

Ed grabbed it, and headed over to the selection of tea, creamers, and sugars. The morning sun was lighting the room in soft colours, and Ed headed out towards the lounge balcony. The glass door opened automatically, and he looked around before deciding that the sofa and chair in the corner would be the most comfortable location. Sprawling across the cushions was a relief to his stuffed stomach, and he settled down looking out at the pool that was located a few decks down. He could see a handful of men sunbathing, and there were even a few women enjoying the nearly empty pool. Ed hadn’t seen many women boarding the ship, and although lesbians might not have too much trouble being surrounded by thousands of men, they probably didn’t enjoy the sausage orgy that would take over the pool once people began finishing their breakfasts.

The door opened again, and Roy walked out onto the balcony and  _ fucking hell _ , at this distance Ed had a full view of the man. How was it that he could wear shorts, and not look any shorter than he was? Every time Ed wore shorts, he felt like a hobbit. He had once tried on a pair of Winry’s booty shorts, and they  _ had _ made his legs look longer, but there was no way in hell that he would ever leave the house like that. Damn the man and his sculpted calves that Ed was  _ totally _ not looking at.

“How did you win your ticket?” Roy asked, sitting down in the chair. “I am beginning to think that I would like to go on cruises more often, so maybe I should enter some more raffles.”

Memories of a very sexually frustrating night flashed briefly in Ed’s mind, but he managed to refrain from giving too many details. “I was bored, and I didn’t want anyone to come over because of quarantine, so when I saw the ad for a chance to win a free gay cruise, I clicked it.” He didn’t mention the fact that his favourite  _ adult  _ website had been promoting the event, and that he had been forced into quarantine celibacy for so long that his brain had begun the painful process of transmuting into a gelatinous lump of pure and desperate testosterone. The ad had promised lots of sex, so here he was. Unfortunately the horniness of 10 months ago had dissipated, so now he just felt awkward.

“How’d you get your company to pay for a gay cruise?” Ed asked

Roy laughed, “They didn’t get any of the specifics, I was simply given a code for this company, and I felt that this option was much more pleasant than their other choices.” He took a sip of his drink, “Luckily my closest friend is the head of the financial department, so unless there is a problem, he will be the only one to see the transaction.”

“That explains it. I was wondering why they’d let you go on what is advertised as a ‘sex cruise’.”

“Hmm, I suppose we should avoid the jacuzzi.” Roy said, and laughed at the face Ed made. “The pool might be safe.”

Ed snorted, “Yeah, no. I saw how crowded that pool gets on the website. If you think I’m going to go anywhere near that biohazard, you are insane.”

“I fail to see the point of a tropical cruise, if you do not use the pool.” Roy said with a raised eyebrow.

“I’m here for the food.” Ed said, “If I want to use a pool, I’ll go to the one at the resort we visit tomorrow. At least most people will be on the beach, and I’ll get a reasonably sperm-free pool to myself.”

“Understandable,” Roy said, “I’m glad I will be able to see you in a swimsuit after all.”

Ed sat up and levelled his best ‘Really?’ glare at Roy. “Still with the flirting?!” He said.

“My apologies, it is a bit of a chronic condition I’m afraid.” Roy said, not looking in the least bit sorry.

“I’m here aren’t I?” Ed said, pushing himself up further, “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t like you. You don’t have to keep flirting.”

There was a flash of something in the dark eyes before the eyelids came down, and the eyebrows rearranged themselves until the heaviness of Roy’s gaze, made Ed squirm, and he began to feel like jumping off the ship.

“Oh really?” Roy said, in a voice that had dropped an octave, “You  _ ‘like’  _ me.” He hadn’t moved, but somehow his body language had gone from causal, to full on seduction.

Ed flushed an embarrassing shade of purple, “Oh for--- _ Fuck Off _ .” He said, and reached for his mug of tea. The feeling of those eyes on him didn’t leave, and he resolutely refused to look up, even as he felt the cushion he had freed by sitting up, getting sat on by what was a very nicely shaped ass--not that Ed had looked or anything. 

“What exactly is it that you  _ ‘like’ _ ?” That voice said, sounding so much closer, and Ed felt the indignation rise up within him.

“You’ll be better off fishing for compliments out by the fishing deck, where they have, you know,  _ literal _ fishing rods.” He said, finally looking up, his annoyance taking the place of his previous embarrassment.

“I prefer to work with _ metaphorical rods _ , if you know what I mean.” Roy said with an impressive eyebrow waggle

Ed couldn’t help it, he laughed so hard, he had to bend over to cough up some spit he nearly choked on. He felt the tears burning the edge of his eyes, and as he tried to take in a breath there was a tentative hand patting him on the back, like he was a child who had swallowed a coin. 

“Oh my god,” Ed finally managed to gasp, as he wiped away some of the spit that landed on his chin. “You are the actual fucking worst!”

“You are not the first person to tell me that.” Roy said, “I think the only person who doesn’t think that is a 9 year old girl.”

Another laugh made its way out of Ed’s throat, “Yeah, and that’s probably because you bribe her with candy and toys.”

“And movies.” Roy added with a grin, “lots and lots of movies.”

\---

The rest of the day went pretty much as planned. Ed didn’t choke to death on his own saliva, and they managed to play a few rounds of crazy golf before watching some very scantily dressed men perform acrobatics while suspended in the air. Ed  _ might _ have made a comment regarding their skillful use of ropes that had Roy laughing loudly, and he  _ might  _ have felt stupidly proud of that. The rest of the afternoon was spent playing games during happy hour until it was time for Ed to restuff himself at dinner. Even the party hadn’t been too bad, and if Ed let Roy press him up against the wall and kiss him until his blood oxygen levels were dangerously low, well, who could blame him?

Ed should have known that the universe wouldn’t let him have such a perfect day.

\--

“Oi! Ed?” A loud and horribly obnoxious voice called out across the lobby. Ed stiffened, and he felt the arm that Roy had around his waist tighten. He might have been  _ slightly  _ tipsy, but that voice had cleared his head like a sudden fall into a frozen lake.

“HEY! ED!” The voice called out again, and Ed swore as he turned, leaving Roy a step or two behind him.

“WHAT?” He asked, the anger coming out in his voice. As per usual the fucker didn’t notice or care that Ed would rather kill him than see him.

“Didn-think I’d see ya here!” Russell Tringham’s voice said, the slur, and unsteady stance suggesting that he had been having a rather good time at the party.

Ed glared at him, “Same, actually. Don’t you have somewhere else to go?”

Russell swayed a little, and his grin widened, “Are you goin to th--the theme party tomorrow?!” He asked, his hands clenching, like he had just had a brilliant idea.

“Not if you’re going to be there.” 

“IT’S _ PIRATES _ !” Russell pointed at him, and stumbled closer as his balance readjusted, “YOU GOTTA GET A PEG LEG! IT’S PERFECT”

Ed wasn’t sure if he punched Russell once, or if he punched him half a dozen times; regardless, Russell lay on the ground, his grin gone and replaced with a torrent of blood.

_ “Fuck you.” _ Ed heard himself say, “If you talk to me again, I’ll get a  _ fucking  _ magnet, and tear out the  _ fucking  _ metal plate from your  _ fucking  _ head.  _ Got it? _ ”

Russell seemed to have sobered a little, and he nodded while looking at his blood like he had never had a broken nose before. Maybe he hadn’t. Ed didn’t care. He turned and walked away.

“Should I ask?” Roy said, as he caught up with him.

“No.” Ed snarled, as he stormed aimlessly through the deck, ultimately stumbling back outdoors onto an empty garden area. He heard Roy following him, and he began to feel the anger seep out of him. With a frustrated sigh he collapsed on to a bench, and leaned his head back.  _ Fucking Tringham _ . Why the hell did he always have to ruin everything?

Slowly he turned his head, and saw that Roy had sat down beside him, not as closely as they had sat during dinner with their thighs brushing, but still less than an arms length away. He hadn’t even known Roy for 24 hours, and yet there was something about him that made Ed trust him, maybe it was the kindness in his eyes, or the honesty with which he answered questions about his time in the military. The man had just watched him break an idiot’s nose, so maybe he should give him some answers.

“That was Russell Tringham.” Ed stated flatly, “He shared my room at the hospital while he was getting his skull fixed.” ‘ _ Not that that had done any good’ _ he didn’t say.

“Anyways, I was getting work on my leg, so I was in no shape to be wandering around the hospital, and I was forced to spend every waking moment listening to Russell tell me jokes that would have been funny if I had been raised by Harvey Weinstien.” Ed took in a breath and let it out slowly, “I was bored, and to avoid thinking about my brother, who was in a coma, I began to do some work. To cut a very long story short, Russell copied my notes, submitted them and spent a year and a half parading around pretending to be me, and he didn’t stop until I literally filed a lawsuit.” Ed felt the wave of old anger wash over him, and he closed his eyes, trying to remember what his therapist had said about relaxation techniques. “He got off easy because he was a minor, but I spent a year working at a fucking awful place trying to repay the lawyer’s fees.” He grimaced, “And now he goes around getting so drunk he forgets I hate his guts, and telling me to get a peg leg. I’ll get a peg leg and shove it up his ass. Splinters and all.” 

There was a moment of silence during which Ed watched a bug crawl across a leaf on the bush beside the bench.

“That is awful.” Roy said quietly, “I had assumed he was just a jealous ex-boyfriend.”

Ed laughed at that, “Not a chance in hell.”

“I see that now.” Roy said, before asking soberly, “Did your brother recover from the coma?”

“Yeah,” Ed nodded, “Car accident. He was out for nearly a year, and I lost a leg.” He reached down and knocked on his knee, letting the metallic sound fill the quiet air. Up until 15 minutes ago he had been planning on following Roy back to his rooms, so he would have had to explain the leg eventually, but that didn’t mean he wanted to talk about it. It had been  _ his  _ fault that he and Al were in that taxi, if he hadn’t been so stupid, so fucking slow they would have taken the train, but no. He had been up all night reading, and had slept through his alarm. Such a stupid mistake had cost Al so much, and it had nearly cost Ed his one and only useful contribution to the world. Fucking Tringham.

Roy looked slightly surprised, but said nothing. Nothing  _ was  _ better than a look of disgust, but it didn’t make Ed feel much better. “It was all fine in the end, but my research project was delayed because of him stealing my work.”

The silence coming from Roy was very unsettling, and Ed set his shoulders, and turned to him. “Look, if the leg wierds you out, then just fucking tell me and I’ll leave.”

This shook Roy out of whatever stupor he was in, “No! That’s not at all what I was thinking!” He said, with such earnestness that Ed couldn’t help but believe him. “I am just trying to remember where I have heard this story before, it sounds familiar.”

Ed cringed, “No idea what you mean.” He tried, but he could see that Roy wasn’t having it.

“You said you worked in a lab.” Roy mused, “What kind of a lab?”

Well shit, he couldn’t dodge that question. “I do oncology research at the Curtis Institute.” Ed said with a shrug, “Nothing too interesting.”

Roy’s eyes narrowed, “The Curtis Institute?” He asked, “Do you work for Dr. Elric?”

Ed grimaced, “Uh--sort of, yeah...that’s me.”

The genuine look of shock, was nearly worth the admission. Ed’s eyes flickered between looking at Roy and looking at literally anything else. “I guess you’ve heard of me then?” he said, feeling as awkward as he did everytime this was brought up.

“Of course I have!” Roy exclaimed, “Who hasn’t?!”

“Lots of people.” Ed shrugged.

“You  _ cured  _ cancer.”

That tone of awe was something Ed was intimately familiar with. He waved his hand, “Some cancers, not all.” He looked over at Roy, who had entered full fanboy mode.

“As if that diminishes your achievements!” Roy said, “I remember listening to your nobel prize speech!”

“The joys of peaking at age sixteen.” Ed said, accidentally sounding more bitter than he intended. “Look, I did it to save other kids from going through what I went through with my mom. I don’t really talk about it because it’s weird, and it hasn’t gotten any less weird in the last decade.”

The look of awe was still there, but Roy seemed to have gotten a grip on himself, and managed to repress the rest of his amazement.

“I’m sorry.” He said, and Ed looked at him quizzically.

“For what?” Ed asked.

Roy gave a half smile that didn’t hide the sadness in his eyes, “All of it.”

Ed swallowed, “Yeah, me too.” 

There was another brief moment of silence, but this time there was no insect to distract Ed from the conversation.

“I remember a case of identity fraud and plagiarism being reported in an article I read about your discovery, but it has been years since I have thought about it.” Roy said, “I don’t think the article mentioned anything about your stay at the hospital.”

“Guess I never told the reporters about that.” Ed said, “I was 12, and I didn’t want anyone to know about my leg or my brother.”

Roy ran a hand over his face, “You were 12 when you discovered the cure for cancer.”

“I was bored, and stressed about Al.” Ed said defensively, “I had to do something to keep me from listening to Russell breathing.” He crossed his arms, “I would have finished my research sooner if fucking Russell hadn’t stolen my work. He was like 17 and trying to get into a good university. Luckily he’s an idiot and couldn’t finish what I had started.”

“What am I even doing talking to you.” Roy said, the tone of awe returning to his voice.

“Oh, Shut Up! Come on! You also work for a lab, right?” Ed said, his arms flailing just a little in his attempt to change the subject. “You said your lab was part of some breakthrough and you got this trip as a bonus, what was that about?”

“Our lab was involved with the production of the Covid vaccine.”

Ed turned to stare at him, “You’re shitting me, right?”

“No,” Roy said carefully, “I’m perfectly serious. I have 16 months of sleep deprivation to prove it.”

“Fuck me.” Ed said, looking up at the stars that were faintly visible above the garden. “I guess I should say thanks or something.”

“It's not necessary,” Roy said, “It is my job.”

“Yeah, but still.” Ed began, when his mind flashed back to a conversation he had with Al about exactly how he would express his gratitude to the people who made the vaccine. Al had laughed, and had reminded him to use protection while  _ ‘expressing his gratitude _ .’ 

“Thanks.” He said.

“My honour.” Roy replied, “I am glad I was able to play a part in allowing the gay cruise industry to make a comeback.”

“When you say you were involved in making the vaccine, do you mean you worked on creating it or on the mass production?” Ed asked.

“I am on vacation, so I won’t go into the details, but my team developed the Nova vaccine.”

“Holy fuck.” Ed said feeling like he had just been shoved off a cliff. “Seriously?!”

Roy nodded.

“Well fuck.”

“If you’d like,” Roy said with a small smirk, “but I’m not sure my heart could take any more strenuous activity after all of this.” He gestured vaguely, as if trying to indicate their conversation.

Ed jumped to his feet, and grabbed Roy by the collar of his shirt, “I guess we’ll just have to find out.” He said with a heated grin, before bending over to press his lips to Roy’s, and feeling a hand run up his back, and settle in his hair. He groaned as the hand tightened and gave his ponytail a tug. With one last hard press of lips, Ed hauled Roy to his feet, “Look,” He said, “Either take me back to your room and fuck me, or get ready to have security called for public indecency, and I don’t think your company wants  _ that  _ to make headlines.”

Roy’s eyes dilated, and Ed felt the heat radiating off of him. He took a step back, but Roy closed the space between them once again, and Ed felt firm hands on his shoulders, and a hot tongue between his lips.  _ Fuck _ , maybe getting tossed into the brig for indecency would be worth it after all.

**Author's Note:**

> I fucking hate boats *barf*


End file.
